The San Diego Chargers organization is in the driver’s seat as it considers competing proposals for a new stadium–while the Raiders and Rams also consider a return to their one-time L.A. home.
On Monday, San Diego offered the Chargers a multi-use stadium, described by Citizen’s Stadium Advisory Group (CSAG), which noted the increasing threat of the Chargers moving to Los Angeles.
At $1.1 billion and 65,000 seats, plans to develop at the current Mission Valley location include creative funding options from concerts, motocross and MLS soccer games, as well to Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs), naming rights, an NFL loan, $300 million from the Chargers organization, and rent charges, among others. Of particular interest is the statement that the new stadium would require no new taxes, though public funding from city and county stadium funds would be part of the proposed deal. The San Diego Union-Tribune posted the full plan.
San Diego fans of the Chargers have been campaigning hard to keep their beloved team in town, coming out in droves to public meetings on stadium plans and shaking the current stadium with chants of “Save Our Bolts! Save Our Bolts!” Losing the team to L.A. could mean big economic losses for the San Diego area.
Just one day after the new San Diego proposal was released, a land deal in Carson closed that pushed forward a grand vision for a joint Raiders-Chargers arena. The Carson City Council approved plans for the joint stadium last month. At $1.7 billion, the 72,000-seat L.A. area venue banks on either the Raiders, Chargers or both failing to secure deals with their current home cities, and team owners approving a move. The Local NBC News affiliate in L.A. posted new designs for the double-team Carson stadium that were first released in late April.
L.A. has not been home to an NFL team since the Rams and Raiders left in 1994. The Raiders’ first home preseason game after returning to Oakland was played against the also newly relocated St. Louis Rams. The Raiders spent 14 years in L.A., overlapping with the 49 years the Rams spent there. Under currently proposed stadium plans, the two could conceivably share the city once again.
Thousands of petition signatures were delivered by Carson City stadium backers, placing the plan directly before the Carson City Council, bypassing extensive environmental review, according to San Diego ABC News affiliate 10 News.
At the same time, Rams owner Steve Kroenke has been formulating plans for a separate L.A. area stadium in Inglewood at the steep price of $1.86 billion. Inglewood’s City Council approved plans in February for an 80,000-seat facility built at the former Hollywood racetrack site. Team 10 noted that the Rams have not yet announced plans for a move. Fresh renderings of the Inglewood site were released in March.
All three grand proposals are being floated as bright contenders for future Super Bowl venues, a desirable factor to area businesses that may benefit from the bump in revenue.
NFL bylaws require any team trying to make a move to obtain support from at least two-thirds of league owners, which would be 24 of 32 NFL franchises.
The Chargers organization has existed almost exclusively in San Diego for over 50 years, with only their first year played in L.A.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana
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